I just harvested my tiny pineapple guavas yesterday. They took some recovery time because I ripped the plants out of my yard when I moved. They suffered and produced no fruit the first year but they are gradually recovering.

I was biking with my kids and I saw a tree full of apples. It's fairly common in the country to see apples that hang well onto the trees. I don't know what variety they are, but the apples were orangeish with vertical red pointed stripes. They were watercored but delicious and still firm. The guy said I can take a scion and I will . Does anyone know what variety this is?

Any other recommendations for fruit that hang well through the winter would be appreciated. They are not just good for wildlife. I like to eat them and it cheers me up to see some fruit still hanging on.

Most of my fruit is of course, stored away, but I also have several hawthorns hanging on the tree. Carriere variety.John SPDX OR

Hey John, good questions and suggestion. I’ve got a Rome apple that rarely turns ‘red’ - but it’s fruit hangs on longer than most of my apples. Apparently there’s a great stem connection there, not all apples have that. And as long as we don’t have temperatures into the teens… they seem to remain eatable well into winter.

I’ve always left apples for the birds, mainly the Varied Thrush and an occasional Flicker. If some fruit are too high to conveniently pick, ‘that’s’ my reason for leaving them. Last year we had a hard and early freeze that instantly turned such apples to mush. So far, this year they’re still hanging … along with several other varieties.

My Granny Smith’s are always late, and though they’ve no crop this year - the fruit will often end up raccoon food ... though not what I want wandering the high branch-tips of my trees. Another great apple for the birds has been my Wolf River tree; they come on in late October and hang until destroyed by the elements – and are big enough to last a bird for days of pecking! And whatever drops becomes food for the deer, if not the occasional bear…

The old Swaar apple was known for hanging on into winter.Richard Fahey, c/o The Catholic Homesteading Movement, 21 Delaware Square, Norwich, NY 13815-A. No phone or e-mail has collected apples that hang on well into winter and survive freezing. He harvests the frozen fruit and presses them for clear juice.Send $2.00 and a SASE for his variety list. He sells scions.

Fri Dec 23, 2011 11:22 pm

DonRicks

Joined: Tue Jan 26, 2010 1:42 pmPosts: 189

Re: Fruit still hanging on trees

I also have been paying attention to the trees still holding their apples....one reason being that sometimes the guys who want to make cider (hard or soft) run out of good places to find wild apples by the time November arrives....and I want to be able to tell them where they might find it.

I would say that in the many public parks in the Seattle area where I pay attention probably less than 10 percent of the apples are still on the trees now.....and they are very possibly on "seedling" apple trees....(although I have noticed a few of my neighbors still have apples on their trees and so I am sure those apples represent a known variety).

This year seems to be good for having apples that have good flavor, probably even improved flavor, on the apples that are still on the trees.

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